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Kpopalypse roundup – new k-pop releases 14/3/2016

It’s time for another Kpopalypse roundup! Let’s look at this week’s new releases!

Sechs Kies

Fiestar – Mirror

All 808 drums and sultry keys, this is Fiestar’s “Touch” moment where they finally solidify their core concept. Let’s hope that unlike miss A, they stick with it.

Lee Hi – Hold My Hand

YG aim for “Lion Heart/Sugar Sugar” territory here and miss wildly, by not modifying the typical 2NE1-style melodic lines in the chorus to suit the material.

Cosmic Girls – Catch Me

About one part Wassup to two parts Red Velvet, you can tell they’re Sistar’s sister group because their label has no set musical concept for them and is just flinging shit against the wall to see what sticks just like they did with Sistar back in the day. This song is at its best right at the end when the girls stop singing.

Miss $ – Don’t Speak Without Soul

A song with little potential anyway made even worse by bizarrely incompetent musical choices. The time signatures of the backings rub up against the vocal meter, making this song sound like it’s tripping over itself rhythmically. Fine for a pure rap song maybe, but not for this.

Snuper – Platonic Love

Lifts the keyboard textures from a-ha’s “Take On Me” and the melodies from a bunch of other songs from the same era. The 80’s actually weren’t this 80’s.

Yuju (Gfriend) & Sunyoul (Up10tion) – Cherish

You know you’re a big-ticket item in k-pop when you get offers to pair up in some generic mid-paced ballad to help promote some boy group member on another label.

Solbi – Black Swan

I don’t even know what this is but it’s alright, with a welcome change of musical directions mid-stream.

Echae en Route – Night Drive

If more Korean slow songs were a bit vocally and musically subtle like this one instead of sounding like the ten millionth Whitney/Mariah/Beyonce clone jerking off in my face with their “amazing” technique, maybe I’d pour less scorn on them.

BONUS SONGS

JJCC – Today

This didn’t make the cut for the show only because I couldn’t find a playable copy in time. I think it’s cool how they colourised the windows a bit to make you think it’s a different building. Clever. But what’s with the strobes? Can you guys stop that? This is supposed to be a “cute concept”, no strobes please. Thanks.

Lee Hi – Breathe

This one on the other hand didn’t make the cut because it’s pure garbage. Now that Lee Hi has turned 20 she gets to do cookie-cutter Korean slow ballad #598723, coming soon to a restaurant sound system near you.

Loopy – Goyard

Sounds great for the first 50 seconds before the awful beat and rapping come in and ruin it, I’d happily take another three minutes of the ambient intro and the rest can get buried under an avalanche for all I care.

Yoona (Girls’ Generation) & 10cm – Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway

Some dull music, some eaves of some buildings, a few trees, some computer-generated clouds and Yoona’s face all fight for the title of Most Boring Thing 2016.

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5 thoughts on “Kpopalypse roundup – new k-pop releases 14/3/2016”

I’ve rarely heard as much garbage in a song as that 10cm & Yoona thing, holy crap, even by Korean ballad standards, this is bad.
On another hand I’m 80’s trash and Platonic Love is my new favourite Take on Me sound alike, dethroning Sea of Moonlight.

Oh definitely, I just like Platonic Love much better as a song, Sea of Moonlight was nice but I didn’t like the chorus much, my favourite parts where the synth/no vocal parts, which were the most reminiscent of Take on Me. Platonic Love doesn’t have a part that sounds particularly like it but the overall vibe reminds me of that song and it just appeals to me more.

I’ve noticed SM have uploaded a few of these “STATION” videos and everyone of them is absolute shit. I don’t know what it is but it is really becoming a serious cancer upon K-pop. Thankfully, none of the songs seem to be being actively promoted so it’s really only assaulting anyone subscribed to SM’s YouTube channel.

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About This Blog:

A blog created by me so I can write about k-pop related stuff. Some content is related to the k-pop radio show that I host, but most of it is just random shit that I felt like writing. All of it is primarily for my own personal amusement, although if you like it too, that’s fantastic and I love you. Warning: certain posts might occasionally be considered offensive, so if you are an easily offended fucking cunt maybe go read something else instead, thanks. – KPOPALYPSE